A Time That Was
by inveritas
Summary: Whilst loooking in his attic, an aged Hawkeye remembers a time that was...


**A time that was**

Hawkeye Pierce walked up the stairs. He had not been up here for years. And it was becoming harder as the years went by. His age was starting to get the better of him, but it hadn't defeated him yet, and he wasn't going to let it.

'The place is probably infested with rats." He thought to himself as he walked up to the door and twisted the handle. 'Although nothing can be worse than the Swamp.'

Thinking about the Swamp brought back many memories. Some of them hard to remember and some of them worth remembering.

As he walked into the aged attic, which was filled to the seams with cobwebs and a thick layer of dust. He fumbled around to find the light switch, 'I know it's here somewhere' he thought pulling yet another cobweb off his arm. Once he found the switch he turned it on and it revealed to him what could only be described as a sea of white cobwebs mixed with some settled and some un settled dust.

He created a path through the cobwebs and managed to avoid most obstacles in his way. Although his toes thought otherwise they had been the victim of many collisions with erratically placed antique furniture.

He found his way to the old sofa which sat in the right hand corner of the Pierce's attic. Hawkeye couldn't understand why his father hadn't cleaned this place out before he died.

Once at the tattered old sofa Hawkeye sat. "Now, what did I come up here for again?" He asked out loud to himself. He looked around hoping the images of the attic would jog his memory. It wasn't working. Whilst he was looking he spotted a chest sitting at the right hand end of the sofa. The rectangular chest intrigued him. He slowly rose and walked over to it and dragged it back to where he was sitting. He sat down and looked closely at the chest it brought back many memories of his life. He dusted it off and opened it.

Inside there were many things, many photos and a few photo albums. Plus some other things of no or little importance that had been thrown in there over the years. Many things in this chest though were of great importance to Hawkeye, many memories were contained inside this rectangular chest.

He reached into the chest and pulled out a handful of photos. The first few were of him and his Dad, Daniel during the first years of his life. Even then Hawkeye had thick raven coloured hair that even without touching it seemed luxurious. His dad had the same hair, they looked very similar. They defiantly fit the phrase like father like son. Hawkeye missed his Dad terribly. Although he had moved on from his father's death, being reminded of what he didn't have always seemed to remind him of the great bond they shared. He leafed through that pile which was mostly old family pictures. Then he reached into the chest and found another pile. The first photo of this pile was of the friends that mean the world to Hawkeye. The team from the 4077th MASH in Korea. The photo featured BJ Hunnicutt, Father Francis Mulcahy, Max Klinger, Charles Emerson Winchester, Colonel Sherman Potter, Himself and Margaret Houlihan. This picture meant a lot to Hawkeye. It had been taken in front of the infamous sign post of the 4077th. Which in itself meant a lot to the people featured in this photo as it reminded them of home. The next photo was of himself and Margaret. Margaret was in front of Hawkeye in this photo and he was leaning over her, they were both smiling in it and both had cheeky looks on their faces. Hawkeye was wearing his red bath robe with a lay around his neck. He remembered this, it was when they had just been stationed at the 4077th. He had just come from a party in which he was drawing the winner of the raffle. The prize a weekend with a nurse in Tokyo. Hawkeye laughed when he recalled this moment.

Looking at the next few pictures which featured him and Margaret he realised what he had missed out on over the years. He and Margaret had a unique chemistry between them. They were on one hand opposites and on the other hand two sides of the same coin. They had shared some unique moments during that period in their lives. In Korea. Hawkeye felt that he and Margaret could have had an amazing life together, but that was all in the past now. Despite their friendship they had in Korea he and Margaret didn't keep in touch for long. After about ten years their correspondence ceased. They both led separate lives. He didn't even know where Margaret lived now. He just hoped she was happy that was really all he ever wanted for her, was happiness she was the kind of person who deserved happiness. After the difficulties and obstacles in her life she deserved it. He just hoped she found it.

The next photo was of himself and Margaret during their final moment in Korea. Tightly wrapped around each other, locked in a kiss that seemed to be acting like a life line. It was the thing keeping them together for those last moments they shared together. He would never forget that. It was something that would stay in his mind forever, Margaret too. She wasn't a women a man would want to forget and quite likely couldn't. Margaret was his once in a life time and he had let her slip through his fingers. He missed her company, it was something that could never be replaced.

Hawkeye had never married, he had never loved a women enough to marry her. Once he had been close they were even engaged but everyday he compared her to Margaret and that was the problem and the reason why he didn't go through with it.

Hawkeye packed up the photos, he felt they needed to stay in the chest he wasn't ready to open that can of worms again. He loved Margaret even to this day.

'But,' he thought as he switched the light off and closed the door, 'that had become a time that was and wouldn't be again.' He just had to accept that now.

Ironically he never did figure out what he had come up to the attic for in the first place.

**So, what did you think? Please review. Thanks :)**


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